2 Shows, 7 Days, 8 Letters: CES, NAIAS

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Clean out your inboxes and keep your smartphones charged – two of the biggest events of the year are about to bombard the (tech-savvy/info-hungry) world with headlines, sound bites and image overload.
CES kicks off the new year with the annual “everything electronics” show this week in Las Vegas and right on the heels of that comes press days at the North American International Auto Show out of Detroit.

Both shows will undoubtedly be celebrating a rebound-of-sorts of the economy while looking towards a brighter, GREENER future.
While the crack GearDiary team will be providing up-to-the-minute coverage from the show floor(s) in Vegas, baby, I will do my best to spin the motor city news into bytes and bits suitable for your digestion. A difference in covering the two events is that while most of the CES displays allow “hands-on” time with the products, Detroit only allows subtle tire-kicking at best. (They frown on the media taking the new concepts for a spin around Cobo Hall for some reason.)

I see there are two keynote speakers from the automotive industry being featured in Vegas, Alan Mulally from Ford and Rupert Stadler from Audi AG. Also I expect big news from OnStar and Microsoft/SYNC as both technologies are playing larger roles in the automotive field. (I hope some of my colleagues got invites to the private Audi party set for the Ghost Bar).

One announcement I want to hear from either locale is that Kinect technology is going to be used in automotive applications. This way I can move that pesky steering wheel out of my way and have a space for a proper dinner tray so that I can enjoy a nice meal while driving “hands free” down the road.

And while much of the hype around the Vegas show may be personal or home electronics the automotive-related electronics still holds a large presence at the annual event (although much of this may be duplicated from the SEMA show held here in the fall).

The countdown clock to Las Vegas is ticking and street crews are clearing all roads leading to Detroit. No matter what your interests, yearnings or desires, these two events, CES and NAIAS, are going to generate information overload over the next seven days for all of us to digest. Bon Apetit!

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About the Author

David Goodspeed
David was editor of AutoworldToday at Today Newspapers in the Dallas suburbs until its closing in 2009. He was also webmaster and photographer/videographer. He got started doing photography for the newspaper while working as a firefighter/paramedic in one of his towns, and began working for the newspaper group full-time in 1992. David entered automotive journalism in 1998 and became AutoworldToday editor in 2002. On the average, he drives some 100 new vehicles each year. He enjoys the great outdoors and as an avid fly fisherman, as is his spouse Tish. He especially enjoys nature photography and is inspired by the works of Ansel Adams.